BOYS LACROSSE: Lightning halts Spring-Ford-OJR showdown

ROYERSFORD — Any time the Spring-Ford and Owen J. Roberts boys lacrosse teams meet up you can expect lightning-quick goals, thunderous hits on defense and more often than not the goals raining down.

Unfortunately, the weather followed their cue.

In the second installment of the Rams and Wildcats’ annual rivalry games, Spring-Ford burst out to a seemingly-comfortable 12-5 lead through three quarters only for Owen J. to mount a furious rally early in the fourth quarter, pulling it all the way back to 14-11 with 4:11 remaining in the game. That is where the game remains after lightning and torrential rain forced the postponement of the final four-plus minutes to a date and time to be determined.

Paul Major, the reigning Mercury All-Area Player of the Year, and Troy Szostek were the dominant forces for much of the game, Major amassing four goals and five assists and the sharp-shooting Szostek totalling four goals and an assist. Midfielder D.J. Young had two goals and an assist while defenders Zach Hare and Kevin Honaman each scored once.

Chris Antich was tops for the Wildcats with two goals and three assists while Ryan Kent, Sam Garges and Will Snelling hit the net twice. Solo scores came from Nick Tordone and Austin Delgatto, who each had an assist, and Zach DeCarlo.

The two-time defending Pioneer Athletic Conference champion Rams (7-1 PAC-10, 7-2 overall) looked well on their way to avenging OJR’s 12-10 victory on April 3 through halftime. After building a 5-2 advantage over the first quarter, the Wildcats (6-1, 7-2) used a three-minute stick penalty to work their way back to a 6-5 deficit, but the Rams had their best spell of the game late in the second quarter. A superb catch and run by Szostek after a clearance pass from goalie Matt Messerle turned into a quick score for Major. A great block by Kyle Hoffner on the defensive end helped lead to Hare’s goal before Szostek and Major combined to score with two seconds left in the half for a 9-5 lead.

“We did the little things right and the energy was high,” Spring-Ford coach Kevin Donnelly said.

That energy remained high through a third quarter that turned into the Messerle show with the Rams goalie making a number of brilliant saves. Three Spring-Ford goals sandwiched between a penalty-filled chaotic spell in the middle of the third quarter gave them a 12-5 lead entering the final frame.

But that quickly the game totally turned.

“We just settled down. We broke it down, ‘This is how much time we have left. We need one goal at a time and let’s work it that way and see what happens.’” OJR coach Jeff Neese said. “They got one goal, it led to another and it just started piling up.”

The game turned in part because of the Rams’ second stick penalty, the second much more costly than the first.

“We had the penalty issues which was a huge momentum shift,” Donnelly said. “Two stick penalties and that was enormous. That second one was huge for them.”

Four goals in a minute and a half got OJR to within 12-9 with 8:59 remaining. The Wildcats made it 13-11, their closest deficit since the start of the game, on DeCarlo’s score with six to play before Major capped the scoring on this day.

Neese said it took his team some time to get accustomed to playing without stalwart John Pennell, who was missing with a sprained ankle.

“It was the first time in years we haven’t had John Pennell out on the field. Getting the new guys out there we had three right-handers and they were out of sync a little bit. Finally I got my freshman left-hander Austin (Delgatto) out there and he showed maturity and had a goal and an assist,” Neese said.

Donnelly said his team is still progressing, but a win over their archrival after losing the first meeting could go a long way to the Rams getting to where they want to go.

So how will Donnelly guide his players in a four-minute sprint of a game when they resume?